Kosi

Prime Minister Manmohan appropriately declared the floods in Bihar to be a "calamity of national proportion. " No doubt, even for North Bihar which faces an annual cycle of destruction, displacements and loss of human lives, these floods are truly unprecedented in living memory. The Kosi is a tributary of the Ganges and travels through the upper mountainous regions in Nepal before meeting the plains of Bihar and merging with the Ganges several hundred km downstream.

PATNA: Bihar Assembly today witnessed noisy scenes with the Opposition BJP raising the issue of police lathicharge on a group of protesters agitating at the main gate of the House for not being rehabilitated after the devastating Kosi flood in 2008. Leader of Opposition Nand Kishore Yadav raised the matter in the Legislative Assembly during Zero Hour and sought a statement from the state government. As the opposition leader was vociferously raising the issue, BJP MLAs trooped...

PATNA: After having suffered the worst onslaught of the Kosi river which flooded large swathes of land mass of the Kosi region after breaching its embankment at Kusaha in 2008, the people of the Kosi region are now being flooded with development projects. The Chief minister Nitish Kumar himself flew in to Saharsa on Thursday to grace the function marking the commencement of the construction work of the Rs 500 crore mega road bridge project over the Kosi river , besides announcing other up...

NEW DELHI: The fury of Kosi, which struck east Bihar with a vengeance last Monday, may trigger one of the world's biggest human evacuations ever. The exodus should continue over the next several weeks with the scared population spread over six districts finally veering round to timely escape as the only option. By now, almost one lakh marooned people have moved to safe highlands, bulk of them by government boats and many on their own. The reluctant trickle is now taking the...

PATNA: There was a 24-hour respite in the flood threat in nine Bihar districts as Nepal did not conduct any blast today to open the mouth of the blocked Bhote Kosi, a tributary of Kosi River. "We have received information from Nepal through the central government that Nepal will not conduct any blast today to open the mouth of blocked Bhote Kosi river on which an artificial lake has been created due to an avalanche," Principal Secretary to the Disaster Management Department...

PATNA: With the danger of flood looming large in the Kosi belt along Bihar-Nepal border, the Bihar government today ordered forcible evacuation of people living in the space between the river and its embankments in nine districts of the state. The move follows the discharge of 1.25 lakh cusecs of water after the Nepalese Army conducted two low-intensity blasts to partially remove the landslide debris blocking Bhote Kosi, one of the tributaries of Kosi. The release...

PURNIA: Spelling further trouble for lakhs of people already devastated by the floods in Bihar, the Kosi breached the Jankinagar Branch Canal (JBC) embankment in Purnia district on Saturday night, official sources said. The Kosi broke through its eastern embankment at Jankinagar and the flood water was fast inundating villages in Dharhara Kothi, Dhamdaha and Bhavanipur blocks of Purnia district, Additional District Magistrate Bhupendra Kumar Singh said. The breach occurred...

NEW DELHI: Recalling the devastation caused by floods last year, former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra has said that the only way to find a permanent solution to the Kosi river issue was to develop an understanding with Nepal. Saying that floods were the biggest problem of north Bihar, he said "It is necessary to have the consent of Nepal for a permanent solution to the Kosi-river issue as mounting pressure on that country is likely to backfire. " ...

PATNA: A senior Congress leader and Union minister today dubbed as "an election stunt", the decision of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to return to his Gujarat counterpart the aid to Bihar during the 2008 Kosi floods. "It is nothing, but a political and election stunt," Union Food Processing Minister Subodh Kant Sahay told reporters here. Assembly elections in Bihar are due later this year. Describing Kumar and his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi as the two faces...

In Pics: Bihar flood NEW DELHI: In the aftermath of the Kosi flooding that has left millions of people homeless in India and Nepal, prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has said he favoured the idea of setting up a high dam on the river Kosi to regulate the flow of water. Mr Prachanda conveyed his affirmation for the hydel power project in a meeting with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar at a lunch hosted by JD(U)

PATNA: After wrecking havoc in many districts of Bihar for the past one week, the Kosi showed some signs of easing on Monday with the water level receding in five north-eastern districts, following reduction in discharge in the river. Chief minister Nitish Kumar said over five lakh marooned people have been evacuated so far. "Over five lakh marooned people have been evacuated so far and the rest, too, would be shifted to relief camps and safe shelters in the next three...

NEW DELHI: The Centre today assured all help and assistance to Bihar for rescue and relief in the wake of emerging situation due to overflow in Kosi following a landslide in Nepal creating an artificial dam on the river and triggering possibility of floods. Home Minister Rajnath Singh telephoned Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi this morning and took stock of the situation in the state in the wake of threat of floods in Bihar. Manjhi...

PATNA: Bihar government has ordered immediate evacuation of people living along the embankment of Kosi in four districts as a 10-metre high wall of water is expected to sweep down the river from Nepal by this evening or tonight, officials said. Describing the situation as "most alarming", Bihar Disaster Management Department (DMD) Principal Secretary Vyasji said the situation has also created prospect of imminent floods in Supaul, Saharsa,...

PATNA: With the danger of flood looming large in the Kosi belt along Bihar-Nepal border, the state government has put its personnel on alert, ordered evacuation of people inhabiting the embankment area and also sought help from the Army. Bihar Disaster Management Department (DMD) principal secretary Vyasji said the state government has put its personnel on alert and instructed the affected districts to make arrangements to evacuate 1.5 lakh people in eight districts...

PATNA: Bihar government today issued a high alert cautioning several northern districts about imminent floods due to drastic rise in water level of Kosi after landslides blocked the course of the main river in Nepal. The alert has been sounded after the massive landslide over Bhote Kosi last night, which is one of the major tributaries of the Kosi River in Nepal, Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said. "The landslide in...

Tiya Thomas It was about 9 am, when the car pulled into Kosi Kalan, bang in the middle of a marketplace. Warily was the window rolled down yet swiftly did three men make their way to it. The first was a shaven head except a tiny choti, the second bearded and in white topi and the third promptly gave directions to St Theresa Convent School. Most other days in Kosi Kalan, though, are not an easy coming together for all its distinct dwellers — Jats, Brahmins,...

Khagaria is the sasuraal of rivers," says Eklavya Prasad, invoking a local idiom to explain the district's singular status in Bihar. The activist likens it to the home of the in-laws, where everyone must visit to pay their respects. But Khagaria could do without some of this familial bonding because it has been a source of woe for a district through which every south and southeast bound river flows. That makes it the scene of devastating floods every year, causing...

Khagaria is the sasuraal of rivers," says Eklavya Prasad, invoking a local idiom to explain the district's singular status in Bihar. The activist likens it to the home of the in-laws, where everyone must visit to pay their respects. But Khagaria could do without some of this familial bonding because it has been a source of woe for a district through which every south and southeast bound river flows. That makes it the scene of devastating floods every year, causing...

SAHARSA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today appealed to the people to keep away communal forces for continuation of developmental work in the state. Inaugurating a 2.5-km bridge over river Kosi river in Saharsa district in the presence of Sharad Yadav, JD(U) president and party MP from the area, Kumar said if the people continued to extend support, nobody could stop Bihar from getting a special category status which would augment...